The Betrayer and the Mutineer
by LadyBootstrap
Summary: Barbossabeth. Why is it that two sinners can find solace in each other?


**The Betrayer and the Mutineer.**

Night is never quiet. There is always the sound of the waves, the creaking of the boards and the footsteps on the few members of the crew still awake. But there are some nights when it is unnaturally quiet. When even the sea seems to be in a restful slumber; and on nights like this the lack of noise keeps the Mutineer awake. On nights like this the Mutineer likes to think.

Betrayal and mutiny… Two sins that go hand in hand. You cannot have a mutiny without betrayal. They are connected, a small invisible bond but a bond nonetheless. In the Mutineer's eyes his mutiny and her betrayal were needed- one must sin to survive. No man, woman or child is untouched by sin, even the so-called members of 'high-society' wallow in it. Port Royal is no different than Tortuga, strip away the riches and you will find the same drunks, gamblers, whores and blackmailers. Even the Betrayer's father is not safe; he sold his soul to the devil. He gave himself for his daughter but it was the lesser of two evils- and not necessarily the right choice. Even the most righteous of men will sometimes have to choose a path of depravity.

Is that what he once was? A righteous man? The mere notion of it makes the Mutineer laugh. He was once of the same high-standing as the Betrayer's father but righteous? He was a gentleman… Still_ is_ a gentleman but he was never righteous. In his mind he hasn't changed much, still has the same moral code. Only now he has the freedom to uphold it and write his own laws. Much as the Betrayer wishes to do so. She has given up on pretending to be righteous because all of them: the Mutineer, the First Mate, the Blacksmith can see right through it.

See right through the lies she created through her upbringing. She was never going to be a lady, standing quietly by her husband as he talked, putting up with her husband visiting whores and strapping herself into a corset each day. All of the ladies of Port Royal put up with this but the Betrayer would never fit in, especially now. Especially now she is sailing into hell with a pirate captain, a mutineer who had kidnapped her only a few years before. The Betrayer knew she was going to hell, she just wished it wasn't so soon.

Now the Mutineer had never been a religious man. He had already been to hell and now was willingly going back. Why? Well why indeed. To fetch a ship… and a man. The very same man both he and the Betrayer had committed their sins against. She felt guilty- he could see it in her, she hadn't learnt how to hide such escalating emotions yet. But she would, like every member of his crew had learnt to do. More than once she had lashed out at him, screaming that the curse must never had left him as he was still heartless before collapsing into a sobbing mass in his arms. Such breakdowns had become increasingly rare but still happen occasionally. How could he explain he saw the true Captain of the Pearl's grinning face every night and dreamt of the Blacksmith's father pulling him down into the watery depths? That would require the Mutineer giving a bit of himself away to her and he is afraid he had given too much away already.

Strange, how two sinners find solace in each other. Surely the Betrayer would be happier in the arms of the Blacksmith, much like a Sinner's deeds are cleansed by a priest. But no, it is _his_ quarters she comes into every night. To feel the warmth of a woman again would usually be enough for him. But there are times… times when she just sits down next to him on his bed; and he puts his arms around her pale, fragile form and they just stay there, silently listening to each other's breathing. And that scares him. Sometimes he feels he's not just fulfilling some primal need, there is something else there. Something he feels when he holds her in his arms or talks with her long into the night. There is something more than lust there but whether it is a need to absolve sins or something else he has yet to find out. But he doesn't mind. To be able to have her near him is enough for the moment.

So the Mutineer rolls over to look at the sleeping figure beside him. The Betrayer, her sins washed away in the comfortable security of sleep. No guilty nightmares of her crime tonight, tonight there is no need to hold her and tell her it's all right. But that doesn't stop him moving her hair out of her eyes and putting his arm around her. Just a Betrayer and a Mutineer alone in the world. But perhaps they both can be lonely together.

After all the two sins do go hand in hand…

**FIN**

**A/N** This is my first ever Barbossabeth fic, I strongly hope there wasn't too much fluff towards the end. This was also my first try at writing anything with any sort of 'love' in it, just in time for Valentine's day. I would like to thank ShinyGreenApple for inspiring me to do this as the whole 'Betrayer and Mutineer' thing was her idea. I don't want to take any credit for that whatsoever. Barbossabeth is my favourite POTC pairing and I thought I might add a fic to the very small collection out there.


End file.
